CAA: GA News, "Patch work on Carson airport gets under way"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Patch work on Carson airport gets under way
By Andy Bourelle 
THE RENO (NV) GAZETTE-JOURNAL

  
Crews are completing $300,000 in much-needed repairs to the runway and
taxiways of the Carson City Airport before the winter weather further
damages the cracked pavement, officials said Monday.

The biggest chunk of work is reconstruction of the 6,000-foot-by-35-foot
Taxiway A, the most used of the airport's three taxiing areas. Crews
also are sealing cracks throughout the airport's paved areas and
re-coating the surfaces. 

The work couldn't wait until 2004 when a major $12 million
reconstruction project is scheduled to begin, said airport manager Yvon
Weaver.

"It was in horrible shape," Weaver said Monday of the beat-up taxiway A.
"We decided it wasn't going to last another winter. It just wasn't going
to happen."

Work started two weeks ago and is scheduled for completion in
mid-November, weather permitting.

Dennis Taylor, statewide aviation program manager for the Nevada
Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Planning, said the work
was needed. 

"It's not that much different than driving a car on a bad road," Taylor
said Monday. "It tears up the tires and causes other problems."

During the winter, Taylor said, precipitation or other moisture can fall
into the cracks and then freeze, further splitting the pavement. 

Doing periodic maintenance such as this is important because it saves
money in the long run, rather than letting the pavement get so bad it
needs more major work, he said.

"It's a substantial cost savings," Taylor said.

Weaver said only short, temporary closures have been necessary on
airport property, so the work hasn't been much of an inconvenience. 

Two $150,000 grants from the Federal Aviation Administration are paying
for the work.

"Airports can receive $150,000 per year. Carson City knew we were going
to have to do the work, so we held onto our funds and rolled them over
to this year, so we'd have $300,000 to do the work," Weaver said.

Of the work planned for 2004, the airport is responsible for about
$758,000 and the FAA will provide about $11.3 million. 

The project will include major reconstruction and realignment of
different parts of the airport, and some neighboring property will need
to be acquired. An environmental assessment for the project is planned
for next year. 

Taylor said another important reason for completing the work now and not
waiting is that some facets of the project, such as the availability of
FAA funding, might change.

"You're looking at two years down the road," he said. "A lot can happen
in two years."

Attached Photo:

Stephen Bouldin of Sierra Nevada Construction sprays out cracks at the
Carson airport, where officials are reconstructing the busiest taxiway
and patching cracks on the rest of the paved areas.

carson.jpg